Critical Perspectives on Art, Politics and Culture

FEB 2008

Manatee/Humanity

the manatee is found in shallow slow moving riversthe manatee moves in estuaries moves in saltwater baysthe manatee in moving moves gentlythe manatee is to be found in canals and coastal areasthe manatee is a migratory animalthe manatee is gentle and slow-movingthe manatee moves in slow moving rivers slowlythe manatee is completely herbivorousthe West Indian manatee has no natural enemiesthe manatee has no natural enemies but unnatural manthe manatee is constantly threatened by man unnaturallyman with his boats and plastic and attitudethe manatee often drowns in canal locks of manman who makes no concession to manateethe manatee often dies in flood control structuresman who makes no concession to manatee nor cares of manateelife manatee fortunethe manatee dies in collision with water craftman who does not protect the manateewhat steward of the earth is this unnatural man?man who makes no concession to manateethe manatee dies with the ingestion of fish hooksman who unnaturally, makes no concession to manateethe manatee dies from litter and monofilament linesman who is rank in attitude has no use for manateethe manatee dies entrapped in crab trap linesthe manatee dies from loss of habitat claimed by manthe manatee is maimed by man, the manatee could be aided by&nbsp &nbsp manman o aid the manatee man come to the manatee hearta manatee calf is born every 2-5 yearsa manatee gestates for a year in the manatee womb8,400 miles of tidal waters could be for the manatee11, 000 miles of rivers & stream could be for the manatee10,000 miles of canals would they all be for the manateethe manatee has more grey matter in the brain than manthe manatee is perhaps thinking archivally deeper than manancient days of manatee so many thousands of yearsmanatee mind, what is the mind of manatee?the manatee has no natural enemiesthe manatee is completely herbivorousthe metabolism of the manatee is slow, moves slowlythe manatee moves in estuaries, moves in saltwater baysthe manatee moves in slow moving rivers slowly the manatee is gentlethe manatee offspring nurses for up to 2 yearsthe manatee learns everything from the manatee motherthe manatee mothers and offspring sing to one anotherthe manatee have large ear-boneschirps &nbsp &nbsp whistles squeaks of the manateethe manatee in moving slowly moves gentlyoscillations of the manatee moving between manatee earsears of the manatee mother and manatee offspringmanatee are our Sirenians, and live in the house of the sirenswhere are the human sanctuaries for the manatee?manatees &nbsp &nbsp mermaids &nbsp &nbsp sirens singing move slowlythe manatee mother and calf so bondedfemale manatee bonded with her just one manatee offspring…

Three manatee species and one particular Dugong species are on the endangered species list but the classification is in question. They are victims of loss of habit, collisions with boats, and “red tide”. This mammal is an aquatic relative of the elephant, grows up to nine feet long and can weigh 1,000. This creature is related to the Steller’s Sea Cow that went extinct in 1768.

Contributor

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Anne Waldman has been a prolific and active poet and performer many years, creating radical new hybrid forms for the long poem, both serial and narrative, as with Marriage: A Sentence,Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble, and Manatee/Humanity, and most recently Gossamurmur, all published by Penguin Poets. She is also the author of the magnum opus The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment ( Coffee House Press 2011), a feminist “cultural intervention” taking on war and patriarchy which won the PEN Center 2012 Award for Poetry. Voice's Daughter of a Heart Yet To Be Born, a prose poem meditation on William Blake's Book of Thel.

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